Time for Rudy to show he is a starting NBA SG

[Blaze01]

I wanted to create a thread to talk about this because I really think Rudy stepping his play up (Aldridge delivering like an All-Star\go-to-guy being the other) is one of the top two storylines of this series.

Rudy Fernandez is going to have to be the player he thinks he is. You know, I always say that in his mind, he came over here from Spain to be a star, not somebody’s backup. So now, let’s see it Rudy. Here’s your chance on a big stage — go show the world who you are.

http://www.dwightjaynes.com/

Fernandez, who has been stealthily complaining - usually in a Spanish-language newspaper or magazine - about his minutes, role and touches off and on throughout the season, will finally get his chance to show what he can do. His adoring fans complain that coach Nate McMillan is mis-using him and they talk about what he could do if given the minutes. Well, he'll start against the Suns and get plenty of minutes in this series.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2010/04/trail_blazers_will_rudy_be_rea.html


I believe that the coaching staff has misused Rudy's abilities...I also think that Rudy could be a starting level SG in the NBA...but I am not nearly as confident in that opinion as I once was.

Now is the time where he has to show what he can be as a starting NBA SG, there is no better opportunity than this...put up or shut up IMO...

He has complained about his role, his minutes and now he is going to be starting in the biggest, most important games of the entire season, playing meaningful and likely lengthy minutes...he has to be a player that PHX must account for and he is going to have to show that he can overcome that and still produce...

As a fan of his game and abilities, I have been dissapointed with his play this year...he too often settles for 3pt shots, has not shown the ability to create offense for himself or others in a 1v1 situation, and too often defers to pass instead of taking the shot, several times in fact where he has had a good look at the basket (scoring opportunity)...

Will Nate run Rudy off more screens to generate offense for him and likely opportunities for other players (making good use of Rudy's court vision & passing abilities)?

Will Rudy look to shoot\score more in those situations? Come off that screen, get the pass and SHOOT...not dribble, or look to pass it to someone else..SHOOT THE DAMM BALL...

He is going to have to if he TRULY wants to excel in the playoffs...b\c relying on 3-pointers isn't going to get it done...Nor is trying to go 1v1...that just isn't his strongsuit...He is a guy who needs to use his fitness to run defenders off screens and use his strong shooting and playmaking ability to either score himself or create easy opportunities for his teamates...BUT for POR to advance in this series IMO, he is going to have to be a little more selfish and look to score himself in those opportunities because outside of Aldridge who WILL be the focus of PHX defensive schemes & Miller, Rudy provides the next best opportunity to generate offfense, which this team is going to desperately need.....

I am fan of Rudy's game, but the bottom line is he needs to step up and show he can deliver a "big performance" when his team needs it.....

 

[hasoos]

I don't agree that the coaching staff has misused his abilities. In fact, I think many times they have gone out of their way to accomodate him, and he hasn't produced. The coaches have nothing to do with Rudy missing a ton of wide open 3's, and the ton of other open looks he has had. He is a shooting guard. His job is to take and make shots, and possibly set up team mates.

Field Goal percentage of .378 is fucking sad. Like out of the NBA bad.

I would remind you that many people said the same about Sergio. Sergio is heading back to Europe because he can't even play in the D'Antoni system.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Rudy is not a starting shooting guard ... I don't care how much Dwight thinks he's bound to be a star.

 

[HailBlazers]

I think the coaching staff's plays for Rudy suck. Agree to Disagree hasoos

Blaze is correct, Rudy and LMA must step up for us to have a chance

 

[MIXUM]

if we are counting on 1 truck pony rudy.... its already over. no chance in hell

 

[THE HCP]

if we are counting on 1 truck pony rudy.... its already over. no chance in hell

You can only hope, huh?

 

[blazerboy30]

Rudy isn't a starting NBA level SG. Why do people think he can just turn it on now that Roy is down? Rudy is what he is.

Rudy shoots about 60% of his shots as 3-pointers. That just isn't going to get it done in the playoffs. He doesn't have the skills required to do much else.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Rudy start shooting a little better from downtown, which could help a lot. But I definitely don't expect him to have some breakout performance where he totally changes how he plays the game.

 

[hasoos]

The main thing with Phoenix is we can't have a chucker out there throwing up 3 attempts and missing. They love for you to do that. If you watch their games over this stretch where they have played well, they have implemented a zone defense. If we have Rudy and Bayless out there missing 3's, we are fucked. They have to nut up and hit their shots.

 

[hasoos]

I think the coaching staff's plays for Rudy suck. Agree to Disagree hasoos

Blaze is correct, Rudy and LMA must step up for us to have a chance

Ok so say the plays for Rudy do suck. It still doesn't explain him missing a ton of open looks. An open look is an open look. There are no excuses for not nutting up and hitting those shots.

 

[HailBlazers]

He doesn't have the skills required to do much else.

Wrong. Rudy has the ability to thread the needle and to find the open man. They need to run plays for him that get him open enough to drive and kick, or drive and dish. His passing skills are off the hook

 

[oldmangrouch]

"Rudy stepping up."

Right. That will happen just after Elvis sings the "America the Beautiful" while standing naked on Dwight Jayne's head.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Wrong. Rudy has the ability to thread the needle and to find the open man. They need to run plays for him that get him open enough to drive and kick, or drive and dish. His passing skills are off the hook

Rudy is a good enough stationary passer....but he doesn't have the handles for what you are suggesting.

 

[blazerboy30]

Wrong. Rudy has the ability to thread the needle and to find the open man.

I'm wrong because he threads the needle every once in awhile, but usually results in turnovers? If we turn the ball over against the Suns, they are going to run, and run, and run us out of the building.

They need to run plays for him that get him open enough to drive and kick, or drive and dish.

He doesn't have the required skills to drive consistently. Otherwise he wouldn't be shooting 60% of his shots from 3-point land. Nate and his play calling can't be blamed for EVERYTHING.

His passing skills are off the hook

They are decent. He makes some great passes, but he also makes some incredibly bad passes.

 

[HailBlazers]

but he doesn't have the handles for what you are suggesting.

He does if they run a play for him to get him a step ahead of the defense!

 

[Luther]

Good players don't need plays called for them. If he is good enough to be a starter in the league then he better be able to create a shot for himself or one of his teammates. While Rudy can create for others at times...he can't create for himself. I agree the way we run him off screens is not very effective...That being said if he was "starter" material....He would be able to make it work. Let's just agree Rudy is not the player we all thought he would be. He is atrocious on defense and unless he is knocking down his three he is pretty useless.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Both Rudy and Martell need to really step it up if we want win.

 

[andalusian]

JB has been pretty useful against PHX this year. They do not have the dominant shot-blockers that give him so much trouble driving into the paint.

If JB plays well - we have a very, very good chance of taking this series.

 

[maxiep]

The main thing with Phoenix is we can't have a chucker out there throwing up 3 attempts and missing. They love for you to do that. If you watch their games over this stretch where they have played well, they have implemented a zone defense. If we have Rudy and Bayless out there missing 3's, we are fucked. They have to nut up and hit their shots.

Yep. They don't have brawn down low, so they want long rebounds. It also allows them to leak a couple of their players for easy baskets.

 

[TripTango]

While we may disagree on Rudy's skill set and overall level of talent, do we all agree that this is something of a watershed moment for the guy? For example, say he does step up and deliver during this starting playoff run. Wouldn't that go a long way towards redemption for his largely mediocre season? Wouldn't that justify a starting spot for him somewhere? On the other hand, if he folds like an unshaven paper towel, I'd say his role as a longterm NBA backup (at best) will be equally established. I'm hoping for the former, obviously.

 

[BGrantFan]

JB has been pretty useful against PHX this year. They do not have the dominant shot-blockers that give him so much trouble driving into the paint.

If JB plays well - we have a very, very good chance of taking this series.

If the Suns primarily play zone, I'd be torn between starting Rudy or Bayless. I think I'd go with Bayless, simply because he can attack the zone with penetration, and Miller can as well. Unless Rudy is going to shoot 45% from 3, I don't see what consistent value he can add over 7 games. Bayless will always be able to attack the zone.

 

[TripTango]

If the Suns primarily play zone, I'd be torn between starting Rudy or Bayless. I think I'd go with Bayless, simply because he can attack the zone with penetration, and Miller can as well. Unless Rudy is going to shoot 45% from 3, I don't see what consistent value he can add over 7 games. Bayless will always be able to attack the zone.

I dunno about that... J-Bay has GOT to get smarter about the way he attacks a collapsing D. It drives me nuts when he barrels into 3 defenders hoping and praying for a favorable whistle. With good ball movement, he could work wonders. If he just brings the ball up and charges, he will do more harm than good.

 

[andalusian]

While we may disagree on Rudy's skill set and overall level of talent, do we all agree that this is something of a watershed moment for the guy? For example, say he does step up and deliver during this starting playoff run. Wouldn't that go a long way towards redemption for his largely mediocre season? Wouldn't that justify a starting spot for him somewhere? On the other hand, if he folds like an unshaven paper towel, I'd say his role as a longterm NBA backup (at best) will be equally established. I'm hoping for the former, obviously.

Sure. Same, to be honest - is for LMA. He is now the focal point of the team, against a team that does not have a real bruiser in the paint - if he can not deliver now - I would be disappointed.

 

[STOMP]

I don't agree that the coaching staff has misused his abilities. In fact, I think many times they have gone out of their way to accomodate him, and he hasn't produced. The coaches have nothing to do with Rudy missing a ton of wide open 3's...

if you take a lot of 3s you're going to miss a lot of 3s... per 36 minutes he puts up 6.6 attempts from deep.

Field Goal percentage of .378 is fucking sad. Like out of the NBA bad.

63% of his shots this year were 3 point attempts. That he shot a respectable 37% from there overall including the stretches when he was playing through well documented injuries lends some perspective on why it's not so fucking sad. But who needs perspective

STOMP

 

[maxiep]

Count me among those who think Rudy hasn't been used to his ability. Sure, he's a good three point shooter, but his game is best when he's running off screens and in constant movement. I don't think he's really in the flow when he just stands around and waits for the ball.

Do I think he's bound for NBA superstardom? Not really. However, I think he can be a valuable contributor in this series.

 

[KingSpeed]

Rudy has done nothing to prove that he can step up as an effective starter for us. He wants more minutes but he doesn't produce. We started him at SF in Game 6 last year. He played 41 minutes and only scored 2 points on 1 of 7 shooting. Bayless is the key to this series not Rudy. Bayless dropped 29 on the Suns in our first win against them this season. I hope Bayless gets the majority of the minutes.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Wrong. Rudy has the ability to thread the needle and to find the open man. They need to run plays for him that get him open enough to drive and kick, or drive and dish. His passing skills are off the hook

I agree with this, but it's one thing to have the skills and another to produce. This is finally Rudy's stage. I think we will fully see what he's made of. I hope it's good.

Also, I have full confidence in letting him take a game winning shot.

 

[maxiep]

People will likely focus on his character and not his play, but this situation reminds me a lot of 2003 playoffs and Zach Randolph stepping up against Dallas. He was a monster against them and it really transformed his career. I hope we have another player step up that way against Phoenix.

 

[Nikolokolus]

People will likely focus on his character and not his play, but this situation reminds me a lot of 2003 playoffs and Zach Randolph stepping up against Dallas. He was a monster against them and it really transformed his career. I hope we have another player step up that way against Phoenix.

My sincerest hope is that it will be LMA, without Brandon in there being option numero uno; it's his chance to really take over and assert himself ... I'm not super confident this is going to happen, but man do I ever want to see him step up and hit one out of the park -- it could potentially transform him into something much more than we've seen to this point.

 

[blue32]

I dont think we use Rudy correctly, or rather, I do not think this offense curtails around his strengths. So, I still think he will be "average" in the playoffs, but may have a higher scoring average, because of increased minutes.

 

[Blaze01]

While we may disagree on Rudy's skill set and overall level of talent, do we all agree that this is something of a watershed moment for the guy? For example, say he does step up and deliver during this starting playoff run. Wouldn't that go a long way towards redemption for his largely mediocre season? Wouldn't that justify a starting spot for him somewhere? On the other hand, if he folds like an unshaven paper towel, I'd say his role as a longterm NBA backup (at best) will be equally established. I'm hoping for the former, obviously.

Nice post...this is what I was trying to open discussion about...

The point is, whether you think he is a career bench player or potential NBA starter...the fact is this really is put up or shut up time for him in a lot of ways....

He is going to get the opportunity to show what effect he can have as the starting SG, and on a BIG stage. Unless Nate jerks his minutes around, which I don't forsee, then he doesn't really have any excuses....

The last few games Nate has been utilizing screens more for Rudy...running Artest & Durant all over the court, which IMO had positive effects...However, Rudy needs to look to score more when he gets the ball off those screens...quick release, mid range shots...that SHOULD be right in his game...POR is going to need his scoring to beat PHX IMO...that means he is going to have to look for his own shot more....

My sincerest hope is that it will be LMA, without Brandon in there being option numero uno; it's his chance to really take over and assert himself ... I'm not super confident this is going to happen, but man do I ever want to see him step up and hit one out of the park -- it could potentially transform him into something much more than we've seen to this point.

Yeah and this is really story #1 concerning POR...This is Aldridge's time to prove to everybody that he is a legit All-Star caliber talent who is capable of carrying his team...I really think he has the ability to do it...The question is does he have the will to do it?